More health systems have been launching or expanding hospital-at-home programs.
Here are seven numbers on acute hospital care at home as 2025 begins:
1. CMS has approved 378 hospitals across 140 systems in 39 states for a waiver to be reimbursed for the care model as of late November.
2. In late December, Congress extended the acute hospital care at home waiver for three months, through March 31. Without another extension, CMS will stop accepting hospital-at-home applications March 1.
3. At least 10 health systems have grown their hospital-at-home offerings in the past six months.
4. More than eight health systems were OK'd for new hospital-at-home programs in the last nine months of 2024.
5. The four most common conditions treated through hospital at home are respiratory (36%), circulatory (16%), renal (16%), and infectious diseases (12%), CMS reported in December.
6. Thirty-day readmission rates for the top two diagnoses for hospital at home are significantly higher than inpatient care, while the next three are significantly lower, CMS found. Overall, hospital-at-home patients have a lower mortality rate than their brick-and-mortar counterparts.
7. Medicare spending is about 20% less for the top 25 diagnoses for hospital at home compared to inpatient care; however, CMS noted that differences in clinical complexity complicate direct comparisons.